Networking & Job Applications
Do you want a job in impact investing but are not sure where to start? Are the concepts of networking, informational interviews and coffee chats new to you? You’ve come to the right place!
Traditionally job seekers have turned to job boards or company websites to discover vacancies that interest them. Whilst this is a great way to see who is recruiting and get a feel for industry roles, competition is usually high and they are not always the best way to land your dream position. Additionally the best roles may be filled before they even have a chance to reach a job board or company website.
In the day of online job applications there is a very low cost for candidates to apply, and hiring managers find themselves inundated with CVs. Needing a way to filter through all the interesting candidates, many revert to recommendations or referrals, and this is why it is so important a firm knows you before your CV hits their inbox.
Informational interviews allow candidates and firms to get to know each other before the formal recruiting process, and this step is critical to knowing you are applying to the right firm. This process is often new to job-seekers who haven’t been on the market for some years, thankfully graduate career mentor Steve Dalton takes job-seekers through this processes in his book ‘The Two Hour Job Search‘.
The videos below offer a taste of the methodology, but we highly recommend you buy the book and apply the suggested techniques to find a job which truly aligns with your existing skills and desired career path.
If you’re struggling to find a list of companies for your networking, consider the following databases:
- ImpactAlpha’s ImpactSpace: a directory of over 6500 impact companies to find firms related to your experience and interests.
- Impact Finance Pro Fund Database and Job Search Tracker: one of the largest and most comprehensive (and up to date!) in the world with over 1,000 funds along with a job search tracker for you to keep track of the organizations that you’ve shortlisted, are targeting, and that you’ve reached out to, so you can do a systematic search and get results.
What is an informational interview and how should I hold one?
How should I manage my job hunt?
Once you start the informational interview process, you’ll find yourself contacting many firms that interest you. Having a structure for tracking your outreach is critical to staying on top of your job search.
We also highly recommend you use a template to record and file your notes from all your calls – see a simple example here.
Following-Up
Following up with contacts after an informational interview or meeting is important and polite after someone has taken time out of their busy working day to speak to you.
Steve Dalton tells us how to do it well:
